Talk to Me
by lovetoflip
Summary: Elizabeth and Henry recuperating after the explosion in Iran. Her injuries are more severe and she has a harder time opening up to Henry. Mostly Henry and Bess. I just thought of this when watching the Tamerlane episode because it seemed like it could have gone so much worse.
1. Chapter 1

**Monday**

11:15pm

Elizabeth's eyes shot open. The lights were off, and her throat felt so dry. She started to cough and gag, realizing she was in a hospital bed. _Where was Henry? Why was she in the hospital? Why did everything hurt?_

Two nurses came running into the room. "You have to breathe Madam Secretary, then I'll take out the tube"

She was terrified. Bess had no idea what was going on. Then she saw Henry appear.

"It's okay babe. Just breathe." As he spoke she calmed down. His eyes worried and his face showing so much concern.

One of the nurses slid the tube out of her throat and the other offered her some water. Everything hurt. She still had no idea why the lights were off and she was lying in a hospital bed but she knew her head was pounding.

"Are you in any pain?" Henry was so worried about her, did she really look that awful?

"I'm okay"

Henry climbed into bed next to her, gently scooting her close and running his fingers through her blonde hair.

"Are you comfortable?" Henry whispered though they were alone in the room. His voice, normally soothing, made her head hurt worse. She winced slightly as he spoke, but Henry noticed and immediately lowered his voice further. "Sorry babe is that too loud?"

"No, it's okay. What's going on?" She was lying about the pain but didn't want to worry Henry more.

"How much do you remember?"

"I remember being in Iran, which Minister Jiavani, then there was an explosion, and gunfire." She tried to push herself to a sitting position but felt weak. They must have her on some medication. She was so tired and felt as though she could fall asleep talking to him. Henry of course noticed and slid his arm around her.

"It's okay babe we can talk later, let's just go to sleep for now."

 **Tuesday**

6:42am

When she finally woke up again, it was still dark in the room. Bess could tell it was morning though due to the light peeking through the curtains. She could hear Henry snoring next to her and moved slightly to reach the remote that controlled the bed. Carefully, she raised the bed so she was in a sitting position and felt Henry begin to stir.

"You okay babe?"

"Yea, just want to sit up."

"You in any pain?"  
"I'm fine" She was lying, her head was pounding and her back was hurting.

"I know you're fine but do you want more pain meds?"

"No I'm good. So when can we go home?" She wanted so bad to be back in her bed, in her clothes with her husband.

This question made Henry chuckle a little, he knew she was in pain and she had only been in here for two days, but of course she wanted to go home and get back to work. "Soon, the doctors should let us know today. Don't you want to know what's wrong with you?"

"Yea. I was going to ask yesterday but the stuff they have me on makes me so tired."

"I know, but they are helping you heal. So you have a bad concussion from your head hitting the ground, that's why the lights are off and everyone is talking so quiet, the sound and light will bother your head. Also, you have bruised bones in your hips and back from Fred and the bomb behind you. Finally, you broke ribs when you fell. One punctured your lung, that's why you were intubated when you first woke up."

 _Whoa, I guess that fall was harder then she thought. It would have been much worse though had Fred not saved me._ She thought about the room where this all went down, Abdul yelling for his father, Fred pinning her to the ground.

"Babe." "Bess" Elizabeth!" He shook her softly and she snapped back to reality. "Are you okay?"

"Yea sorry. I just—" Just then the Doctor entered the room.

"Sorry to disturb you. I just wanted to see how you were doing and talk to you about your injures. So I was looking at your x-rays and I do not think you will need surgery. However, You will be on bed rest for 2 weeks with very light walking if any at all. Then you can begin to move a little bit around the house. You cannot return to work full time for at least 4 weeks. Even then, you will have to take it easy. You will need to follow up with you doctor in two weeks to make sure everything is running smoothly and you are healing well. Any questions?"

"Um…" She was at a loss for words. Two weeks on bed rest. Four weeks before she can go back to work. "Can I work from home on bed rest?" Maybe the State Department can come to me, it wouldn't be ideal but at least then I could get some work done.

"As little as possible for the first few weeks. You can work for emergency reasons, I know that your job is very important but you could definitely use the break, especially with this concussion."

"I will make sure she does." Henry chimed in. I almost forgot that he was even here, if he hadn't been holding my hand, I wouldn't have noticed. "Thank you doctor."

"No problem. The nurse will bring the discharge papers in a couple minutes so you can get out of here. Hope you feel better Madam Secretary."

They sat silently until the nurse came in with the discharge papers, not having anything else to say.

12:41pm

Matt, her DS agent, opened the car door and Henry helped her out. It was still painful for her to walk even with the pain meds, and it would until the bone bruises started to heal. _It's weird not having Fred open the door, he never will again, because of me._ She thanked her DS agents and let Henry half-carry her into the house. Bess wasn't even thinking about her actions, as if on autopilot.

"Mom!" Her children came running down the stairs and hugged their mother. Henry quickly shut off the lights in the house in an effort to ease the headaches that would likely incur.

"Shhhhhh, you have to whisper and be careful guys" Henry was worried their loud voices and hugs would hurt Bess more than if they waited until she was in bed or on the couch.

"Are you guys hungry? I made lunch, broccoli and cheddar soup." Stevie whispered attempting to be helpful though she could see how exhausted both her parents were.

"Could you just bring a bowl up for your mother and I? We are going to go up and take a nap. Thanks." But before Stevie could answer, he led Bess towards the stairs. Henry could tell she was exhausted and the pain meds were starting to wear off. Although she would never admit it, he could tell that she was in a lot of pain. He half-led, half-carried her up the stairs, knowing she wouldn't want to be carried but trying to take as much weight off her body as possible.

When they finally got to the bedroom, her energy was drained. She pushed away from him and started towards the bathroom. He gave her a little space, knowing that she wanted her independence, but then followed her into the bathroom.

Bess was trying to put on her pajamas but was having difficulty. She almost fell but Henry caught her arm, steadying her.

"Let me help." She sighed, upset that she needed help but accepting it due to her fatigued state. He helped her dress, and get ready for bed, before leading her to the bed. She stopped to pick up her iPad but he grabbed her arm.

"No screens. Your brain needs to rest. Especially if you are planning on checking emails. Just get into bed." The doctor warned him about screens slowing the healing time and he knew she would just respond to emails. It would just stress her out and she didn't need that right now. What she needed was sleep.

She slid under the covers and rolled over so her back was to Henry. Bess didn't want him to see her upset, she just couldn't get the image of Abdul out of her head. Though he was going to ask, she really wasn't ready to talk, but she couldn't sleep either.

Henry walked back into the bathroom to get ready for bed and give Elizabeth some space. He knew it would take time before she felt ready to talk about it, but she needed to release some of the tension she was feeling. He could tell how upset and frustrated she was, not only about the injuries, but the whole situation.

When he walked back in the bedroom, she looked as if she had fallen asleep. If he didn't know better, he would have thought she was, but her breathing was uneven like she was crying. He climbed into bed and pulled her close to him, spooning from the back. Her body was tense, holding back all the emotions she had been feeling since the explosion.

"You can cry babe, let it all out. I know that was terrible, you need to let out your emotions."

She didn't move. "I'm fine, just tired. Let's just go to sleep." _Even though I can't sleep. Abdul probably can't sleep either. He will likely need therapy after seeing his father killed…. And Fred._

4:29pm

When Henry opened his eyes, Bess was staring at the ceiling.

"Honey, are you okay? Do you need the pain meds?" Worry immediately washed over him. _How long had she been awake? Had he been so tired he didn't notice that she was in pain?_

"No, I'm okay. Just couldn't sleep."

Henry's stomach growled loudly. They forgot about dinner. He looked over his shoulder at the bowls of soup on the nightstand. Maybe some food would get her back to sleep.

"Do you want some soup?"

"Sure." She didn't realize how hungry she was. Henry pulled her upright and slid behind her to hold her up. Bess frowned, she didn't like when Henry babied her. She knew he liked to take care of her, but she was capable of sitting up by herself. She was too tired to object though, so she just decided to let Henry hold her up for a while.

They ate together in bed for a while before Henry noticed she was starting to fall asleep. He put the bowls back down on the nightstand and pushed a pillow between them, then pulled her small frame up to position them to sleep. He thought this would be more comfortable for her then lying down because it didn't but pressure on her hips or back which were still causing her pain. Bess' breathing began to even out and she fell asleep in his arms.

7:45pm

Henry woke to the sound of vomiting. He rushed out of bed and into the bathroom to find Elizabeth bent over the toilet and the shower running. He rubbed her back and held her hair until she was finished. Then helped her lean back against the cabinet to catch her breath.

"What happened?"

"I tried to take a shower but it was too much and before I knew it I started throwing up."

"Why didn't you wake me?" He already knew the answer. She didn't want help, but she is just out of the hospital, she should have woken him.

"I can take a shower by myself. I have been doing it for many years." She was more upset with her lack of abilities then with him but all the anger with the situation was coming out towards Henry.

"I know babe but you're injured, you are going to have to slow down and let me take care of you."

"I don't want you to take care of me!" she started to raise her voice but immediately quieted down, the increase in volume made her head pound.

Henry put his hand on her shoulder. "I know, but you are going to have to live with it for a while." He slipped his hand under her arm and pulled her to a standing position. "Let's get back in bed." They walked to the bed silently. That was the most conversation he had had with Elizabeth since the explosion and she still hadn't really talked yet. _If she doesn't find some way to release all her tension and relax, she is going to explode at the wrong time._

She got into bed slowly, careful not to put too much weight on either hip with him following.

"Do you want to talk about it?" _I can't push her too hard or she will shut me out completely._

"It was dark, after the explosion, everything was in shambles but it was a kind of darkness that I have never experienced. I was afraid I was still there when I woke up in the dark hospital room."

He stayed silent, knowing she wasn't done. "I thought about you and the kids the whole time. I wanted so bad to come home to you guys. The thought that I might not get to come home scared me. If Fred hadn't thrown himself in front of the bullets, it could have been me coming home in a box." That last part didn't settle well with either of them.

"You're home now babe."

 _Jiavani and Fred aren't. They will never come home to their families again._ "I can't stop seeing Abdul's face, screaming for his father. I wanted to shield him from everything, but I couldn't, Fred was on top of me and I couldn't move." She rolled to her back and looked at the ceiling. His hand went to her stomach, drawing her from her thoughts.

"It isn't your fault, you saved so many lives by risking your life and going to Iran." Henry wanted to take all her pain and grief away. She looked so tired but he knew she wasn't able to sleep. "Come here" He pulled her to him but felt her wince and immediately let go. "What hurts?" Concern washed over his features.

"I'm just sore. It's okay." Henry knew Bess was lying. She admitted she was sore which meant she was in more pain then she was letting on. He wanted to help but didn't know how without knowing what was causing her pain. He pushed himself over her, careful not to put any weight on her aching body.

"Babe I know you too well for that, tell me" She squirmed slightly under him. He realized she probable wasn't comfortable having anyone over her after Fred. He slid back to his side but didn't take his eyes off her.

"My hips are a little stiff, and my back is sore." Bess hated to admit weakness. She never complained to Henry about pain or took any medication, she would normally just push through the pain and pretend it wasn't there. This was different kind of pain though, one she had never felt before.

"How about a warm bath? That would help with the soreness." _Finally, now I can help her._

 **Wednesday**

7:13am

"Good morning. How are you feeling?" Henry watched Bess' eyes blink to adjust to the light coming through the curtains.

"Better"

 _That was a lie. I don't even have to read her face to know that she is in pain. Who does she think she is talking to? I have known this woman for over two decades. Doesn't she know that I can read her mind._

Henry looked into her blue eyes, he could get lost in there. He has gotten lost in her eyes, but right now, all he sees is pain and frustration. He knew she was hurting, no madder how much she denied it.

Against Elizabeth's objections, Henry decided to take the day off and keep an eye on her, making sure she took it easy. He brought breakfast up to Bess in bed to limit the amount of moving she did. Henry discovered she was not in bed but rather down the hall in Jason's room, picking up socks. He led her back to their room and into bed. Bess turned on the tv to the news channel and Henry quickly took the remote.

"You don't need to watch that. Eat." He flipped to Last Man Standing, knowing she loved that show and snuggled in next to her. As the show ended, Henry noticed she hadn't eaten much.

"Not hungry babe?"

"What? Sorry."

"I asked if you weren't hungry. Your mind is a million miles away though."

"Sorry honey. No, I'm not really that hungry."

Henry went downstairs to put the dishes in the sink and returned to find his wife gone again. He cleaned up a little before going to search for her. He found Bess standing in the office, looking through a pile of documents on the desk. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and felt her tense under him. He grabbed her hands and pulled her away from the desk.

"Go plant your butt on that couch, you are supposed to be on bed rest. Let's watch a movie. I'll make popcorn" He wanted to get her off her feet and her mind on something besides work. She was not supposed to be doing anything but lying in bed and healing but she was wondering the house when he left the room.

15 minutes into the movie, Bess had fallen asleep against his chest. He hoped she would stay that way for some time, knowing she hadn't slept well last night.

10:34am

Bess woke to a sharp pain in her back. She jumped at the sudden outbreak, alerting Henry. He knew something wasn't right because she didn't move but rather looked frozen.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know."

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know." He was worried. Henry had never seen her like this before, unsure and hurting. It scared him.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" He knew the answer to that, she hated the hospital.

"No"

"I'm going to get you some ice." He slid from behind her and carefully leaned her back against the couch. When he got to the kitchen, he picked up the phone and called the doctor. If Elizabeth didn't want to go to the doctor, the doctor would have to come to her.

1:43pm

"The doctor told you to stay in bed." Henry said as he watched Elizabeth get out of bed.

"I know, I am just going to the bathroom" _I feel like an invalid. I hate this._

She started to feel lightheaded and grabbed the door frame to steady herself. Henry rushed to her but she held out her hand and attempted to keep going. She took a couple steps and fainted, falling into Henry's arms. He laid her down on the bedroom floor.

"Elizabeth." _Come back to me. Come back to me. What is happening?_

She eventually opened her eyes to a concerned Henry.

"Thank god. Elizabeth, you scared the hell out of me."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine, you fainted."

"I'm so tired."

"Okay, let's get you in bed."

He carried her to the bed and pulled the covers over her. Stepping into the bathroom, he got some water for Bess and dropped a Xanax into the water. He watched it dissolve as the doctor told him to. After Bess had been checked out by the doctor, he gave Henry a bottle of Xanax for when Elizabeth broke down or needed to sleep. Henry took a deep breath. _That was terrifying. She would kill him if she found out he gave her meds. She needs to stay put. It's doctor's orders._

To his relief, Bess was still lying in bed when he returned. She looked exhausted. Henry handed Bess the glass and waited until she drank the entire thing before taking the glass back to the bathroom.

When he walked back into the bedroom, she was sitting against the headboard reading a book. He crawled into bed and took the book from her hands.

"Hey" She gave him a dirty look. Those deep blue eyes always melted his heart but he had to stand strong for her to get better.

"Go to sleep."

"I'm not tired."

 _Yes you are. That was a lie, and not a very good one. You can do better than that ex-CIA._ "Please, please just go to sleep so that you can get better."

"I can't sleep, quit pushing me."

 _He knew she wasn't really mad at him, but didn't like being out of control._ "I need you to try harder to heal. I know you want to get back to work but please try."

"What do you think I'm doing?" She said coldly. She knew he was trying to help but she didn't like him coddling her. She was ex-CIA, she had been injured and got better by herself before, like when he was deployed.

"You have a serious head injury, bruised bones, and broken ribs. You need to be taking it easy, not walking around and working."

"I'm fine. I am taking it easy. I'm not working and being an invalid to you. What more do you want?" Now she was upset.

"What is this really about?" Henry knew why she was mad, but she needed to say it. So she could being to open up to him.

"It's my fault that Abdul doesn't have a father anymore and Fred's wife is a widow. I went to Iran and now they are dead. I was there and I didn't save Abdul from watching his father die. Now you want to take care of me and people are calling me a hero when Abdul, Fred, and Jiavani should be getting the attention. They deserve it."

 _Finally, she opened up to him._ "I understand babe but their families are taking care of them. It is not your fault. My job is to take care of you and make sure you come home to our kids. If you don't take these injuries seriously and rest, you could wind up with permanent brain damage. What will that do to OUR kids. They need you. I need you."

"I know. I will take it more seriously. Promise."

"It's okay to cry. Others cry, it does not make you weaker. I know that you hold yourself to a higher standard but just as others have to deal with emotions, so do you. You need to let out all the pent-up emotion from the past couple of days, it will make you feel better. It's okay to fall a part, because I am here to pick you up."

"I have been trying to cry, I just can't. I don't know why."

"It's okay, I'll be here when you are ready."

 **1 week later**

7:48am

"Morning." Elizabeth waddled down the stairs slowly into the kitchen, careful on her still painful injuries.

"No" Henry said as soon as he saw his wife in a formal dress. He knew she was trying to go into work today.

"Just for a couple of hours. I need to get some stuff done, then I will come right back."

"You haven't been cleared by the doctor to go back to work. You are still concussed, and you can't move too well with those bone bruises, not to mention the ribs. You are just becoming able to tolerate sound and light." _It's too soon. She could pass out from pain at work._

"It's just a couple hours. I will be sitting the majority of the time. I will take it easy. Promise."

"3 hours at most." He knew she would stay longer than that, but at least she would try to come back on time.

"Thank you. Love you, bye."

"What about breakfast ba-" the door shut behind Elizabeth.

8:28am

"Good morning Madam Secretary. Nice to see you!" Nadine met Bess at the elevator that morning, with the rest of her senior staff close by.

"We weren't expecting you back for a couple more weeks." Daisy added.

"She's not back, she just came in for a few hours." Blake informed the group.

"So Henry called you Blake?" She knew he would. They always talked behind her back to make sure she left the office on time.

"Yep. He said that you have to take it very easy and must leave before lunch."

Nadine chuckled to herself. _The secretary? Taking it easy? You'd have to shoot her first?_

They entered her office and got settled, then began filling in the secretary on the events during her absence.

The door opened suddenly and Russel barged in with Blake trailing behind.

"Russel Jackson, ma'am."

Russel began lecturing her about the events during her absence and filled her in on the events of importance that she would need to attend, before saying he was happy to see her healthy, and walking out the door.

11:30am

"Time to go ma'am" Blake said as he brought her coat.

"I'm going to stay a while longer, but I will leave soon."

"All due respect, Henry will blame me for not getting you back on time. So you should go before Nadine calls security on you. Your car is waiting."

"It's okay Blake, I will tell Henry it was not your fault."

With that, he walked out the door. Nadine appeared a few minutes later.

"Ma'am, this will all be here tomorrow. It's time for you to leave."

"I just have a little left, then I will go."

"Yes ma'am."

1:58pm

As the car pulled up to the Georgetown house, she knew Henry would be upset that she was late. When she walked through the front door, he was waiting for her in the office.

"You're late."

"I know, I'm sorry. You didn't have to wait for me, have you eaten lunch?"

"No, Blake called, then Nadine called to inform me that you were staying at the office against their pushes. So, I knew you wouldn't have eaten either."

"I'm sorry I just had to finish a few things."

"It's okay, what's wrong?" He could tell her demeanor had changed since she left the house this morning.

"Nothing."

"Babe, just tell me." _Obviously, there was something wrong, but he didn't want to have to draw it out of her. Why couldn't she just tell him? Why did she try to hide her feelings from him?_

"I saw Fred Cole's widow."

He could see the tears welling up in her eyes, she was holding them back though. "Oh, I'm so sorry babe. That must have been awful."

He pulled her into his arms and she began to silently cry. Finally letting out everything she had been feeling since the explosion.


	2. Chapter 2

**2 weeks later**

2:40am

"Mom…. Mom." Elizabeth woke to find her youngest child shaking her shoulder softly. "I don't feel good." She sat up and looked Jason over. _He doesn't look good either._

"Okay Jase, go out into the hall and I will be there in a minute." He turned and left the room as Bess peeled herself out of bed trying not to wake Henry. As she stood, a wave of nausea flooded over her and she felt a little wobbly but she grabbed her robe and followed her son out into the hallway anyway.

Elizabeth put her hand on Jason's forehead to discover he was very warm. "Go lay down in bed, I am going to get a cool washcloth." Jason followed her instructions and Bess watched him enter his room before stepping into the bathroom. _A cold shower would be helpful, but his fever is so high it would be too shocking to his system. A cool washcloth will have to do for now._

"Can you sit up Jase?" The lights were out in his bedroom, but she hoped she wouldn't have to wake him. "Come on honey." She still got no response. Bess walked over to the bed but stepped in something wet before reaching her sick child. She looked down to discover vomit on the carpet and her left foot. Jason was laying on his back, with his arm across his face, asleep. Bess set the washcloth on the bed and cleaned up the vomit before returning with a bucket.

"Jase, wake up honey." She nudged his shoulder lightly, eliciting a moan from him. Bess put the wash cloth on her son's head and placed the thermometer in his mouth. They sat silently waiting for the reading to appear. When the thermometer finally beeped, she took it out of his mouth and read it to herself. _103.2. That's awfully high. We might have to take a trip to the hospital._ _ **"**_ What hurts Jase?"

"Everything." His voice sounded raspy in the otherwise silent bedroom. Elizabeth made a mental list of all the symptoms he appeared to have. _Vomiting, fever, fatigue, sore throat. Sounds like the flu. I will give him some Tylenol and see if his fever goes down within a couple of hours._

4:56am

Bess walked back into Jason's room to find him asleep. _Good, maybe he can sleep this off._ She was still the only one awake in the house and hadn't alerted Henry of their sick child. She had come home late from work again last night and he had lectured her on continuing to take it easy until the doctor cleared her to go back to work full time. So, they had gone to bed on worse terms than normal.

"Jase, are you feeling any better?" He groaned loudly. _At least he is responding to me._ She put the thermometer back in his mouth, eliciting a minimal response from Jason which worried her.

 _102.5_. _That's better, maybe we wouldn't have to take a trip to the emergency room after all._ "Okay go back to sleep honey." Bess was now confident that it was just the flu and he would be able to sleep it off. She crept out of the room and slowly shut the door behind her, before walking down the hallway to her own bedroom.

"What are you doing up?" Henry croaked as Elizabeth dragged herself into bed.

"Jase isn't feeling well."

"Why didn't you wake me? Does he need a doctor's appointment?" Worry flooded his features. She loved how much Henry care about his family.

"Not yet, I gave him some Tylenol and his fever went down. I am going to try and let him sleep it off, but if it gets worse, I will take him in."

"Okay, thanks for taking care of it babe. I know you are tired. Let's go back to sleep until we have to get up." She rolled onto her side and he pulled her close.

7:00am

Elizabeth's alarm went off and she sat up slowly, sitting on the edge of the bed for several minutes before finally standing to walk into the bathroom. Henry noticed but rolled over and went back to sleep, hoping she was just tired from having to get up with Jason.

"Good morning. Is Jason not getting up?" Stevie stood at the stove making eggs for the family when Bess walked down the stairs.

"No, he isn't feeling well so he is going to stay home but would you check on him during the day please? Your father and I can't stay home today." She felt terrible for not staying with her sick baby but she had back to back meetings today and Henry had to give an important lecture.

"Yea, no problem. Are you feeling okay?" She looked over her mother's tired features and saw she was walking very stiffly.

"Yep. Just tired. Bye, love you." She kissed Stevie goodbye and walked out the door, closing it softly behind her.

7:35am

"Good morning ma'am" Her entire senior staff met her at the elevator.

"Morning everybody. What's going on?" She eyed Daisy's tablet of doom ready to show her something and the anxious looks on everyone's faces.

"You are going to want to see this ma'am." Daisy stepped forward, and placed the tablet in the Secretary's hands.

Elizabeth watched the new clip in front of her closely as she realized what was happening. The Iranian president was threatening to kill anyone associated with the coup on live television.

"Get me President Shiraz as soon as he steps away from the microphone."

"Yes ma'am." Blake knew the actions of Shiraz were bringing back painful memories.

Elizabeth entered her office and placed her things on her desk, before realizing her staff was still following her closely.

"Is there something else?" The anxious faces were still present on all her staff members but Nadine was the first to step forward.

"Ma'am, Russel Jackson wants to arrange a meeting with you sometime today."

"He called ahead? That's new. Set it up please."

"Well it's just that he wants to talk about the work that happened under Deputy Secretary Cushing."

"Okay…"

"We think that we should be present for this meeting since we completed the tasks under his supervision and you were not present."

"Sounds good. Let me know what time you schedule it for. Thanks guys."

Bess went to sit into her chair but Jay stepped forward before she could sit.

"May I have a minute Madam Secretary?"

"Yes Jay, how can I help you?"

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes I am fine, why?"

"I was just wondering how you were adjusting to being back."

"Very well thank you. Anything else?"

"Yes, I received a phone call from Senator Thomas Botham. He is planning on proposing a bill to ban the Keystone Pipeline from passing through is state and is fostering protests throughout the state. I just wanted to warn you." Jay sat the file on her desk and turned to leave.  
"Okay thanks Jay." Bess sat in her chair and opened the file _._

9:12am

Her phone began to ring and she subconsciously picked it up without checking who it was. "Hello."

"Hey babe. Am I catching you at a bad time?" It was Henry.

"No, I could use the distraction. What's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to check in with you after everything last night and you left this morning before I got up."

"Yea, I had to get into work early today."

"That's okay. Is everything alright?"

"Yea it's all good." Blake knocked on her door and poked his head in. "Hold on babe." She put the phone on her shoulder. "Yes Blake?"

"Russel Jackson is here at a scheduled time for once."

"Okay, let him in and tell the others please." Blake left the room and closed the door behind him. "Sorry Henry, I have to go. I will talk to you late. Bye." Bess hung up the phone just as Russel walked in with her staff following closely behind.

"Good morning Russel." He walked in a stopped, letting Elizabeth's staff get seated before he began to speak.

"Morning. I wanted to talk to you about Cushing."

"I heard. My staff briefed me this morning."

"Good. He agreed to a deal with a senator that the State Department would back his bill to Congress to keep the Keystone Pipeline from running through his state."

"Senator Thomas Botham. I know"

"Okay well I need you to do some damage control because POTUS will absolutely not back this bill and he will not stand for the State Department to either, especially not with an election coming."

"Understood Russel. Thanks for coming."

"I'm not done. Someone in your senior staff facilitated this deal." He turned his attention to her staff sitting on the couch. "Which one of you was it?"

Her staff all looked petrified. "Russel, you cannot interrogate my staff. I will find out and deal with it. Thanks for coming." Russel turned on his heel and walked out the door. Once he was out of earshot, Elizabeth turned to her staff.

"I don't care which one of you it was, we just need to fix it. Let's get to work. Thank you."

Her staff all stood and filed out the door while maintaining nervous faces. As long as they fixed it, it didn't matter to her which had facilitated the deal, they were only acting under Cushing's orders. She was starting to feel nauseous again, and she felt very lightheaded. The words in the files on her desk were beginning to blur as she stood to go to the bathroom. _I'm just tired. I just need to splash some water on my face._ As she walked into the bathroom, she began to feel dizzy and placed her hands on the sink and wall to steady herself. _This is going to be a long day._

5:57pm

Elizabeth had felt herself getting progressively worse as the day went on. She was becoming more dizzy and not retaining any information during her meetings. When she walked back into her office after her last meeting, Blake followed behind.

"Ready to head home for the day?" Blake had known the secretary long enough to know she never went home early but he could always tell when she wasn't feeling well.

"Not yet, I need to get through this stack of paper on my desk."

"Yes, ma'am" He knew better than to argue with her. Bess would never admit to feeling unwell and especially would not succumb to it. He simply took the coffee cup from her desk and refilled it, that was the best he could do for now.

When Blake returned to his desk, he began an email to Henry. They often spoke of the secretary without her knowledge to make sure she got to events on time and had spoken more frequently since the explosion.

 _Dear Henry,_

 _I have noticed the secretary is not feeling well today. She has not mentioned anything to me but looks rather weak. She was zoned out during the meetings today and looked wobbly when walking back to her desk. The secretary has declined to leave yet, but would rather stay to finish the stack of paperwork on her desk. I will try to get her to leave the office soon, just though I would warn you that she was feeling ill._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Blake Moran_

He sent the email and returned to work while listening for the secretary.

8:27pm

Elizabeth's phone rang and she checked the caller id before answering it. It was Henry again, wondering why she wasn't home yet.

"Hello"

"Hey babe. Are you coming home soon?"

 _I knew it._ "Yea. I just finished the pile of paperwork on my desk, I will head home as soon as I wrap everything up for the night."

He could hear the exhaustion in her voice. "Okay."

"How is Jason?" She almost forgot that he was home sick today.

"Much better, his fever has almost broken. He is up and sitting on the couch playing video games. I think it was just a 24-hour thing."

"That's good. No hospital trip necessary."

"That's what I was thinking. I will let you go so you can finish up. See you soon babe."

"Yep, bye." She hung up. Bess didn't want to go home and have to put on a smile for her kids and Henry when she just wanted to crawl into bed for a while. Blake walked in and pulled her from her thoughts.

"Ready to go Madam Secretary? Everyone else has gone home. Your car is downstairs waiting for you."

"Yea, just a minute. Can you make three copies of this and send one to the president and one to the secretary of defense. Thank you."

Blake left the office to complete the last few tasks for the night, discouraged that his attempts to shove the secretary out the door failed.

9:39pm

Elizabeth's motorcade arrived at her Georgetown home. She climbed out of the car, thanked her DS agents, and walked into her dark home. Assuming most, if not all, of her family was in bed for the night, she walked quietly up the stairs. She hoped Henry would not lecture her for staying late at the office though she hadn't been cleared by the doctor to work full time.

"Hey." Henry was sitting in the bed grading papers when she walked into the bedroom.

"Hey" she was exhausted and did not want to have a discussion, she attempted to head straight to the bathroom but he got up from the bed, blocking her path.

"You okay?" He could tell she wasn't feeling well and she looked worse than Blake's description of her.

"Yea, just tired." Bess attempted to sidestep him to get into the empty bathroom. He grabbed her arm with one hand and reached up to feel her forehead but she ducked his hand, slipping past him. He gently pulled her arm to force her back but she slipped his grasp, finally reaching the bathroom.

When she emerged from the bathroom, he was sitting on the bed waiting for her. She knew he had seen she wasn't feeling well, she was too exhausted to try hard to hide it, but she didn't want him to take care of her. She avoided his gaze and climbed into bed without speaking to him.

"Are you going to talk to me?" Henry was waiting expectantly for her to talk to him but she kept her back to him. "Is that a no?" She still didn't respond. "I know you don't feel well." She felt him move closer to her on the bed, sliding an arm around her. She remained still, hoping if she didn't engage, that he would give up and go to sleep.

"Babe. Please talk to me."

"I'm fine." Bess finally responded, knowing he wasn't going to give up.

"No you aren't. You're sick."

"I don't get sick."

"It's okay to get sick babe, you are human, humans get sick. I know you think you are a superhuman and can power through anything but I can tell you feel really crappy."

"I'm fine." _Please let's just go to sleep. I don't want to talk Henry._

"Fine. I'll be here when you are ready to be sick."

11:40pm

He woke to an empty bed next to him and the sound of Elizabeth coughing. When he walked into the bathroom, she was laying on the floor with one arm draped across her face.

"Bess." She coughed loudly but did not respond. "Bess."

"What?" Her throat was hoarse from the constant coughing.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea."

"Let's go back to bed then. Have you thrown up?"

"I'm fine." She coughed again but tried to conceal it. "Go back to bed. I'll be there in a second."

"No, I am not going back to bed. Is that a yes to my question?"

"Go back to sleep." He bent down and pushed the hair off her face, trying to get a read on her temperature without her knowing. _She can be so difficult sometimes. She always has to be in control._ It worried him that he could feel the heat coming off her.

"Come on babe. Let's get some water and go back to bed." Before she could object, he pulled her to her feet and drug her back to the bedroom. Once she was under the covers, he got her some water and got in bed. Bess fell back asleep quickly after a small coughing fit and lots of water. He was worried, this wasn't the same as what Jason had, she couldn't get over this on her own, but she would try her hardest.

1:10am

Bess continued to cough all night. She sat up in the middle of a coughing fit, trying to breathe better. Henry rolled over a turned on the light.

"You are covered in sweat babe." He pulled her arm to look at her but she continued to cough, not getting enough air. Henry handed her a glass of water and watched as she tried to slow her racing heart. "Breathe Bess." He noticed her breathing was labored and she went into another coughing fit. "I'm calling your detail. We are going to the hospital."

"No." She objected between coughs and jagged breaths. "I'm okay, I just need some water."

"No, I will drive you or I can call an ambulance but we are going one way or another." Bess knew he was serious and reluctantly allowed Henry to carry her to the motorcade. "I'll call the Stevie from the car and have Matt bring them later."

2:23am

"Dr. McCord, your wife has stabilized. You may go in and see her now." A nurse informed Henry. He had begun to worry as it took so long.

A doctor stopped him before he entered her room.

"Are you the secretary's husband?"

"Yes, Dr. Henry McCord." He shook the doctor's hand. "How is she?"

"We wish she had come in sooner but she has stabilized. The secretary has progressed double lung pneumonia which is hindering her breathing. When she entered the hospital, her pulse ox was at 81, which is very low. We were planning on intubating her but she refused profusely, so we have her on oxygen and are monitoring her closely. She will need to take antibiotics and rest until she is feeling better."

"When will she be released?"

"As soon as her pulse ox normalizes without the help of oxygen."

"Thank you doctor."

Henry walked into Elizabeth's room and sat next to her bed. _I knew she wasn't feeling well, I should have made her come in sooner._ He climbed into bed and fell asleep next to his wife, hoping she would be better when they woke.


	3. Chapter 3

**3 days later**

6:54am

Elizabeth was home from the hospital. She now laid in her bed reading a book as she couldn't sleep. Her phone began to ring and Henry rolled over to hand it to her.

"You can't go back to work yet. Doctor's orders."

"I know. Just give it to me please." The doctor had begrudgingly let Bess go home with Henry early with a promise that she would not go back to work or do too much until she was cleared by her family doctor.

"Hello?"

"Sorry to disturb you madam secretary but we have a situation." Elizabeth could sense the worry in her chief of staff's voice.

"What is it?"

"Deputy Secretary Cushing had a heart attack. He is on the way to the hospital now."

"Oh my god." Elizabeth tried to sit up in the bed but fell back. Henry pushed her to a sitting position. "What's his condition?"

"Unknown at this point. You may have to come in."

Henry quickly took the phone from Elizabeth's hand. "No. She can't come in."

"Henry, give me the hone back." Bess took the phone back from him.

"You cannot go in. I won't let you." She knew he wasn't going to budge.

"Fine. Bring the work to me Nadine. We can do a mobile State Department day." _Henry isn't going to be happy, but at least everything will get done._

"Yes, ma'am"

"Thank you." She hung up the phone and turned to face Henry. He was fuming.

"Only a couple of hours, then everyone leaves."

"Got it babe."

7:35am

"I got it." Henry opened the door and people flooded into the house. Her staff set up around the house, letting the senior staff take over the kitchen.

"Good morning guys." Elizabeth was standing at the counter drinking her 3rd cup of coffee. She took a sip, then stopped to cough.

"Good morning Madam Secretary." Blake walked over and took the cup from her hand. "I'll bring you another ma'am"

"Okay catch me up. How's Cushing?"

"In surgery ma'am." Nadine stepped forward.

"Who is running the office?"

"Right now, you."

"Okay, then let's get to work. What's first on the agenda?"

"You have a meeting with the prime minister of Yugoslavia. We have arranged for him to meet you here." As Nadine spoke, she grew uncertain of the secretary's status. _Is she able to handle all of this?_ "Next, Greece is having financial troubles and is reaching out in the hopes for aide. Then, POTUS wants an update on the situation with President Shiraz and Senator Botham."

Elizabeth coughed, cleared her throat, then began. "Okay. Blake, I need you to get everyone out of my office so I can meet with the Yugoslavian prime minister in there. Daisy and Matt, put out a statement that the State Department will not be taking a side in the Keystone Pipeline Bill and we do not condone President Shiraz's actions. Jay, I need Greece's prime minister on the phone in one hour." Elizabeth began to feel lightheaded as she spoke.

"Why don't you come get ready for the meeting in your office." Nadine hoped to get the secretary to sit most of the day. It was obvious she was still unwell and healing from the explosion in Iran. She had tried to keep Elizabeth's day as light as possible but there were pressing matters that needed to be taken care of with Cushing out of commission.

Bess followed Nadine into her office to find the Yugoslavian prime minister waiting for her. Nadine closed the doors and walked back into the kitchen to check on the progress of the others.

9:15am

Bess had just gotten off the phone with Greece when Russel opened the door to her house. _I guess he just walks in no matter where we are._ He looked around, locked eyes with Bess, then came into her office and began to yell.

"What are you doing? You aren't supposed to be up and moving around let alone working. Is Henry alright with this? POTUS is on his way here now."

"What?" Elizabeth was ready to respond to all of his questions until the last statement registered in her mind.

"He is on his way here. Answer my other questions."

"I am fine. With Cushing in the hospital, my staff brought the matters of importance to my concern"

"You are supposed to be on bed rest and not working. Where is Henry?"

"He went to the store but he already knows that everyone is here."

Blake walked into her office. "Madam Secretary, the president is here."

"Okay let him in. Thank you."

"Bess." Conrad walked in and Elizabeth stood to give him a hug. She pulled back as he began to speak. "What are you doing? You are not supposed to be back to work for another week."

"I know but my staff informed me of Cushing's situation so I took over the things that needed to be done."

"I don't care. I am shutting this down."

"But sir, I am fine and there is no one else to get this done."  
"You are on bed rest. We will get what we need to done. It will be more difficult but we will deal with it. It is none of your concern. Don't make me send the secret service in here to haul your ass into bed."

"Sir, it's not that big of a deal. I will sit the whole time if that makes you feel better."  
"It doesn't but if stay seated the whole time, I'll let this go. Only for a few hours though. Just until the necessary tasks are completed and I find someone to fill in for you. I am going to leave two of my detail so that two of yours can come in here and make sure you are following orders."  
"Yes sir." _This is ridiculous. If I want to work there is no reason why I can't._ Conrad and Russel both walked out the door, leaving everyone with shocked expressions.

Matt and Frank, two of her DS agents walked through the open front door. Conrad was serious.

10:35am

"Ma'am you should really sit down." Matt and Frank had followed her around all morning, constantly telling her to sit down, it was starting to get on Elizabeth's nerves.

"I will, just got to get this to Daisy."

"I'll take it. Just have a seat." Matt took the file from Bess' hand, then walked out of the room. Frank motioned toward the couch. Elizabeth sighed, walking toward the couch but Jay called her name from the kitchen, causing her to change directions. This shift made her off balance and she started to fall but Frank pushed her back to her feet. She walked into the kitchen to find her senior staff gathered around the kitchen table staring intently at the computer screen.

"What is it?"

"North Korea just fired a missile that came dangerously close to the California coast." Jay looked up only for a second.

"Anyone hurt?"

"No, they claim it was an accident during testing."

"Matt and Daisy put together a statement before this gets too big."

Blake walked into the room, handing Elizabeth another cup of coffee. "Ma'am, the president has texted you four times"

All of her senior staff looked up as the secretary took the phone from Blake. She opened her phone to see 4 angry texts from the president.

 _I know you are walking around. All of your agents report to me too._

 _You better sit down. I just informed Henry of the order._

 _I will issue an executive order confining you to a wheel chair if you don't._

 _Bess, I'm serious. Don't make me come over there and throw the state department out of your house._

Elizabeth walked back into the living room. "Who told the president?" no one answered. She looked directly at Matt and Frank and repeated the question. "Who told the president?"

"I did." Henry said as he walked down the stairs. She hadn't realized he was home.


End file.
